I agree with you on this. I believe that for them to be successful while learning English, the student needs to be able to be taught in their native language. I think doing so, we won't see a big achievement gap because they still will have learned the content at their appropriate grade level.

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:42 pm Post subject: English Only May Have Some Benefits For Adults

EO for adults with limited language proficiency, when they are seeking to enter the workforce rapidly, has some merits. While reading the posts on this website, I can understand the arguments for BE, especially for children; however, for adults the EO method that specifically targets the skills in the workforce that the adult is seeking to learn.

I agree that Bilingual Education can be an important feature of English language education. I am especially in favor of BE as a way to boost L1 proficiency/literacy, which is necessary to possess before going on to learn an L2. This is especially true when in comes to literacy skills. If people must learn to read, they will have an easier time learning in their L1. Then you establish literacy, phasing English in as the student makes progress.